FAIRHOPE, Ala. - A guide to locally grown food available in Mobile and Baldwin counties will soon be published and distributed free of charge this summer.

“Whether it’s Baldwin County’s best tomatoes or Bayou la Batre’s finest catch of the day, and whether it’s for home cooking or dining out, local folk who prize healthy and deliciously fresh local food will soon have a handy guide to all the culinary delights available in the area,” a joint news release by the Alabama Sustainable Agriculture Network and the Fairhope-based Local Food Production Initiative stated.

“The Mobile & Gulf Coast Farm and Food Guide” is being prepared by ASAN, with funding through the Alabama Department of Agriculture and Industries, and will be distributed free of charge both online and in hardcopy sometime this summer, the release stated.

Information for the Guide is being developed by the LFPI, which will provide information about area farms, farmers markets, seafood vendors, restaurants, grocery stores and other businesses that sell or use locally grown or caught ingredients, and other local-food related businesses and organizations such as gardening supply stores and nurseries, community gardens, and food banks or pantries.

In addition to directory listings, businesses and other organizations can purchase advertising space in the Guide.

“The Guide is part of a statewide effort to help local family farmers find more customers, to help people find the typically fresher, more naturally grown and affordable local produce they are increasingly looking for,” ASAN president Jim Allen said. “(This will) help communities thrive by keeping more of their food dollars circulating in the local economy instead of flowing out of the community and even out of the state.”

More information on the statewide ASAN Farm & Food Guide project is available at www.asanonline.org. And more information about LFPI is available at www.FairhopeLocalFood.org.

Anyone interested in having a listing or ad, or how to get a copy of the Guide, can contact LFPI representative, Jo Ann Wettlaufer at 251-928-8646 or joann1117@gmail.com.